Last year, in efforts to engage with the Voice Referendum, CSSV found strong relationships with a variety of organisations committed to reconciliation. This year, CSSV has established a Reconciliation Working Group.
With less than a month to go before Australians vote in a national referendum to decide whether to enshrine a First Nations Voice in the constitution, people on both sides of the debate are being encouraged to engage in respectful and informed dialogue. At a recent online webinar hosted by the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Council (NATSICC) and featuring speakers from a number of leading Catholic organisations, participants were also called to make their decision in light of the principles of Catholic Social Teaching.
This Social Justice Sunday (27 August 2023) we encourage you to reflect on the place of First Nations Peoples, new ways we can engage and walk together, and the importance of the upcoming referendum and the outcomes that will lead to better consultation, improved policies and services, and stronger communities.
The voices of three Aboriginal and Torres Strait elders were recently heard in an online panel discussion aimed to help foster discussion and deeper understanding about the upcoming referendum. Hosted by Catholic Social Services Victoria and Catholic Social Services Australia, the three-part series, Indigenous Voice to Parliament: Moments for healing this country, provided an opportunity for hundreds of participants to hear from a variety of speakers as they unpacked the implications for voting yes or no in the upcoming referendum.
Recognising the need to engage in thoughtful an well-informed discussions on the Voice to Parliament referendum, Catholic Social Services Victoria (CSSV) and Catholic Social Service Australia (CSSA) recently hosted a webinar with Fr Frank Brennan SJ, a prominent lawyer, human rights activist, and long-time advocate for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
To assist members of the Australian community to understand the referendum question and the implications of voting yes or no to the Voice to Parliament more deeply, Catholic Social Services Australia and Catholic Social Services Victoria are hosting three public webinars over the coming months. The first was held on Thursday 25 May, with more than 250 people registering for the webinar.
Catholic Social Services Victoria & Catholic Social Services Australia invite you to join them in a Webinar Series on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament: Moments for healing this country.
A packed Cathedral room in the Cardinal Knox Centre listened to the academic lawyer and Jesuit priest speak candidly about his hope for the debate around the important vote on Australia’s constitution later this year.
The online Reconciliation Conversation hosted by CSSV on Friday 5 August elicited much thought and discussion about the progress of reconciliation in Australia, with special guests Fr Frank Brennan and Vicki Clark providing powerful insights.